FOTONIQUE

For me religion in Belfast is very confusing in that nearly every church that is not Roman Catholic appears to be independent and many have very small congregations but today I came across one that really surprised me. The attractive building in this photograph is located close to Queens University. It was originally a Christian Science Church but it has been sold to the worldwide Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) which has its headquarters in the Philippines.

The Iglesia ni Cristo was established in 1914 and has some 27 million members in more than 5,600 congregations worldwide. The Northern Ireland branch of Iglesia ni Cristo [neither Catholic or Protestant] was established in Belfast in 1988/89 with seven people, and the congregation now has several hundred members.